The Runaway Prince
by zanoush
Summary: Merlin was a Prince who was hidden from the world and frankly he was fed up. So he ran away to Camelot, to live as a peasant and ends up as a manservant to Prat – Prince Arthur. But can he keep his identity a secret when every kingdom is alerted, and every knight in the five kingdoms (including Arthur), are out looking for the runaway Prince.
1. Prologue

**THE RUNAWAY PRINCE**

**Summary: Merlin was a Prince who was hidden from the world and frankly he was fed up. So he ran away to Camelot, to live as a peasant and ends up as a manservant to Prat – Prince Arthur. But can he keep his identity a secret when every kingdom is alerted, and every knight in the five kingdoms (including Arthur), are out looking for the runaway Prince.**

**Note: I do not own Merlin and company! This is obviously an AU, and Merlin/Arthur pairing. And both Morgana and Nimueh are good characters in this story.**

**Prologue... Just a little introduction to the story**

Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms, called Camelot and Ealdor. One was located to the north of Albion and the other to the south. Both kingdoms were rich in lands and treasure, both very powerful and ruled over by equally powerful and yet just Kings. At the heart of each kingdom lay the city, which shared the name of their kingdom, this was where the Royals resided, in castles of equal beauty and magnificence. Although the two kingdoms were allies, the Royals hardly saw much of each other, only visiting for formal occasions such as treaty signings and weddings and… Births.

The Pendragons, who ruled over Camelot, had last seen the Emryses, who ruled over Ealdor, at the birth of their own son – Arthur. But now they have travelled to Ealdor, with Arthur – who was now four years old – to see the new addition to the Emrys family, for Queen Hunith had given birth to a son.

However, Merlin – the new Prince – was born extraordinary. He had magic, very powerful magic, considering every time he cried the very foundations of the Castle shook. On the day of his birth the mysterious sorceress had come to inform King Balinor and his wife, that there were prophecies about the Emrys Prince, one talking of his power, she warned them that their son was destined for great things. But already he had enemies among the people who knew of the prophecies. She offers the Royals her services as a teacher for the Emrys Prince and the advice to keep Merlin hidden. Fear for their new-born son, had King Balinor and Queen Hunith agree with Nimueh, the sorceress. They had decided not to even let their son's name to be known, so he was to be referred to as the Emrys Prince. Later when the Kings and Queens of neighbouring kingdoms, and many Lords and ladies of different courts gathered in a feast to celebrate the birth of the Emrys Prince (the Pendragons included), they were disappointed to hear that the young prince would not be at the feast, for they were told, that there had been complications at his birth, that had rendered the baby ill. It was advised, they were told, that they were not to expose the infant to the world just yet. The guests of Ealdor accepted that, and gave their well wishing for the Emrys Prince to his parents.

As it neared the end of their visit, Arthur Pendragon had managed to escape his minder, and to wonder around the foreign Castle. He knew not of where his tiny feet carried him as he got further and further away from familiar grounds. He was lost in his childish imaginings, when he heard from one of the rooms, a cry – a cry of a babe. As the cry continued the Castle began to shake. It was not the first time it had happened since Arthur had been there. His mother, who had heard from King Balinor, told him that the shakes were due to the great Dragon, who had come to celebrate the birth of a new Prince, as the Emrys King was a Dragon Lord. The shakes did not scare Arthur. They felt safe to the four-year-old. But the cry made him feel sad. He made his way over to the door, where the cry was coming from and opened it to find inside was a crib that rocked as the cry came from it. Arthur made his way over to it, surprised that it seemed to be built for his height; usually everything was too tall for the young prince. Inside the crib Arthur came face-to-face with a crying baby, who had tiny black hair and light blue eyes, which kept changing to gold as he cried. Arthur wanted the baby to stop crying, so he did what his own mother did for him when he cried. He extended his tiny hand and stroked the even tinier face of the baby, who immediately calmed down at the touch of Arthur's hand and stared at him with unchanging blue eyes. Arthur hardly noticed that the shaking had stopped, he was completely mesmerised by those eyes, which were a shade or two lighter than his own.

"He is pretty, isn't he?" Arthur jumped pulling his hand away. There by the door was a woman dressed in red. She had milky skin, dark black hair, vibrant red lips, and bright blue eyes. She was beautiful, even the four-year-old could see that. "Don't be scared Arthur, I'm just is nanny." She told him kindly.

"How do you know my name?" Arthur demanded. "And what's your name?" The woman laughed.

"You are a Prince, everyone knows your name. And my name is Nimueh." Arthur nodded sheepishly. Then looked back at the baby, who was still looking at him.

"Is this the Emrys Prince?" He asked the nanny.

"Yes, he is" she said simply. "Would you like to help me put him to sleep? Then I'll take you back to your parents" Arthur agreed. Nimueh sat on a chair by the crib; Arthur took another on the other side. They rocked the crib together and Nimueh sang a lullaby, which Arthur soon joined in.

"In the land of dreams, the land of mystery,

You go tonight.

You will dream deep, dream of light,

Dream a dream.

Where no one can hurt you,

And everyone loves you.

You'll feel like you're home tonight."

It didn't take long for the baby to sleep and soon Arthur was back with his pants and on his way back to Camelot, but he couldn't get that lullaby out of his head. As the years passed, both boys forgot the words of the lullaby, but the tune remained with them. Every time they felt scared or upset they would hum that tune to themselves, subconsciously.

Soon Merlin grew to be a very powerful wizard and with Nimueh's teachings he was very good at controlling his magic. But Merlin was never allowed outside of the Castle. A select few knew his actual name. He was a trained fighter and hunter as any Prince should be, but he was never allowed to practice them in real life. Merlin wished to see the world, more than what he saw from the Castle Towers. He wanted to go out there, to meet normal people, _his_ people, but no one would let him and he was getting fed up.

And that leads us to where our story starts, Merlin's 16th birthday…

**End of chapter!**

**I hope you liked it! Please read and review thanks…**


	2. Birthday plans!

**Chapter 1… Birthday plans!**

The white rabbit was oblivious to its observer as it munched on a piece of carrot it had found lying amongst the bushes. Watching, Merlin was lying down with his notebook, a bottle of ink and a quill. The gardens of the castle of Ealdor, was full of animals that had been captured in the wild and brought there for Merlin to practice hunting.

Merlin was not happy of course, one: because of the extent they were going to keep him inside the castle grounds, and two: because he actually didn't enjoy hunting. He'd rather be like this, observing them and studying them. Ironically this had made him the best hunter, not that anyone knew, he had kept his private study private, not even the king and queen knew. The only person who knew was his personal tutor, Nimueh, who had suggested it and ask for reports from Merlin. Merlin liked hiding in the bushes, it was helpful, no one found him there except Nimueh.

"Merlin!" That was his manservant, who probably was looking for him. At the shout, the rabbit ran away, spooked. Merlin sighed, dropping his head onto his notebook. He stayed that way until he was sure that the coast was clear, before he got up and slowly made his way into the castle. The castle was very busy, preparing for the feast that night, the feast for Merlin's 16th birthday. The castle workers always enjoyed his birthday feasts more than Merlin did. Because to make the hall look full his parents would invite them. Even though they would be invited again, some of the court leaders would also be there, seeing Merlin for the first time, so that they would get to know him now that he would be crown prince. One would think this would cheer Merlin up, but Merlin knew that this wouldn't change anything about his life. The reason these people were invited to see Merlin was that they now could have private council meetings with him to update him on their main council meetings. Merlin sighed again, he wasn't looking forward to meeting middle-aged men who would try and talk sweet at him so that they could win his affection.

"There you are Merlin!" That was Freya, coming his way. "Will is looking for you everywhere!" Merlin sighed yet again; it was one of those days!

"Tell him I'm in my chambers if you see him" Merlin told her. She gave him one of her sweet smiles before hurrying along to help out.

Freya was the cooks' daughter, and destined to be a cook also, after her father. She was around Merlin and Will's age, so the three had become fast friends. Merlin used to think he had a thing for her, until he realized she wasn't exactly his type. He could see that Will and Freya would so end up together.

When Merlin reached he's chambers' it was to the sight of his frantic manservant. "There you are!" Will explained. "I have been looking everywhere for you!"

"I'm here now," Merlin said dully. Will frowned, before giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Come on we have to get you ready for the feast." And with that he helped Merlin out of his clothes and into the fancy clothing laid out on his bed. Before long Merlin was dressed and ready. As he was looking in the mirror he had to admit he looked good. He had on twilight tunic and dark black pants, with his Ealdor trademark colour of midnight blue cloak. On the back of the cloak, was the silver symbol of Ealdor, a crouching Dragon from its side. Of course no outfit of Merlins' would be complete without his most famous red neckerchief, perhaps the only thing with a bit of bright colour in the whole outfit.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Will went to answer it. "Merlin," he turned at the sound of his name, there were his parents, the king and queen. Will made some excuse and left, once he was gone, Balinor walked forward and patted Merlin on the back. "You look every part of a handsome prince, son" King Balinor said in his broad voice.

"Yeah, well" Merlin gave a bitter smile, "Only I need to feel like one" his words hade the effect he was going for, his father stopped smiling and his mother's eyes showed with unshed tears. He dropped his head down in shame and guilt. This was not like him at all, he just felt on edge on this day. But before he could apologies for his rude words, his mother cut in.

"You know everything we do is for your protection, Merlin," she said with a shaky voice. "We love you and just want to keep you safe," Merlin seethed at her words.

"I can take care of myself!" He barked losing what little control he had left. "You know that I'm the most powerful man in all of the five kingdoms, I can stop time with just a thought! Why do I have to be stuck here? Why can't I even meet my own people, whom one day I have to rule over? You're crowning me as your heir today father, why can't I be like the prince I'm supposed to be?" He knew he was hurting his parents, but he couldn't help it. All his life he had been cooped up in this castle, and now he was tired of these stonewalls. Sometimes he even hated the castle that had been his prison for the last 16 years. He just wanted to get out, to walk in the open, and breath fresh air. It was getting so bad that he was now terrified of small places.

"Merlin…" His father started again, stopped, then started again. "Merlin we love you, and this is for your own good. Let's just get to the feast and enjoy ourselves." He looked really mad; Merlin knew that his father hardly ever got this angry. Merlin nodded, dropping his head in shame, and his parents left.

When Will got back, Merlin was sat on his bed, staring at the ground looking furious.

"Sire," Will hardly ever called him 'Sire' unless in a serious situation. "Are you ready?"

"No I'm not," Merlin looked up at Will, then an idea came to him. For the past two years, Merlin had been sneaking out of the castle at midnight in peasant clothing (Which Will had brought for him after a _lot_ of convincing on Merlin's part). No one outside of the citadel knew what he looked like, so he would sneak out and into the city. Unfortunately at night there was only one place you could go in a city like Ealdor: The Tavern. At first, Merlin had been satisfied to go and sit in a corner, with a drink, and just watch his people, later he even started joining in with the songs and games. But after some time, it wasn't enough any more. You can't really get what life is like for the people in a _tavern_! Besides, not everyone went to the inn, what about the women and children? What about the hard working family man? What about the people in the outlying villages? But Now Merlin could leave! No one knew what he looked like; he could go and see for himself before he was officially crowned as heir to the throne.

"Will, where are my peasants clothing?"

"Why do you want to know?" Will asked suspiciously.

"Just…" Merlin didn't know what to say, he just knew that for Will to help him sneak out at night was one thing, but this was completely another matter. "For later," he finally said. "You know after the feast. You know I'll need it after today; you know being at the feast, angry, frustrated and you know, stuff."

When Merlin lied, he got nervous, when he got nervous, he spouted nonsense. For example, he would repeat a single word or phrase a lot. This of course made him a bad liar. He waited with baited breath as to see if Will had bought it, Will looked suspicious, but apparently he couldn't justify that suspicion.

"They are at the back of your cupboard, like always," Will said finally but with a frown, he never did like it when Merlin snuck out. Merlin thanked Will and they both left for the great Hall. Merlin was to wait in a side chamber until his father gave a very long speech and then called him in. When they got there, Will left Merlin to go and join the feast. Once alone, Merlin took off his cape and lay it down on a table that was in the middle of the room. He looked around tensely, petrified at what he was about to do, but it was now or never!

With a flash of gold in his eyes, time slowed down. Merlin walked to the other door that leads into the hall and peaked in. He saw everyone moving so slowly, it was almost like they had frozen, except you could see the miniature movements they made.

Merlin looked at the people he loved, his parents and his friends one last time. Then he shut the door and left the chamber from the first door he had entered it. He quickly made his way to his own chamber, changing his current royalty clothes to that of peasants clothing. He then took a bag from under his bed, and packed away all the rest of his clothing, along with some of his other stuff, such as his notebook (which was magically enchanted to never run out of pages). He also packed his favorite reading book, and a bag of money he had saved up that no one knew about.

Next he made his way to the kitchen, which were empty due to all the staff being at his party. There, he packed away some food and then headed out to his stables.

He looked at his horses and then chose the one at the back. She was pure black but with a spot of white on the front of her head, in the shape of an arrow. She was a young horse, who had recently reached adult hood, and Merlin hade yet to try her out for a run. But now he thought Arrow (as Will had imaginatively thought to name her Arrowstart, and before Merlin could change it, it had stuck, so now he called her Arrow) wouldn't be as recognizable as the others. He quickly saddled her, and led her out of the stable. That was until he realized he still hade the spell of slowing time going and the poor animal couldn't possibly keep up. Releasing the spell, then leading Arrow out of the stables, Merlin realized how much power he had used for the spell. His power and with the ease that he would always use it, sometimes scared Merlin, himself. The young prince got on his horse and rode on, out of the castle and out of the city.

Merlin rode on till he was far away from the Ealdor; with a little help from his magic it took less time than it should have. Once he was sure he was quite far away and is Magic have covered his tracks, Merlin stopped. Only now he realized he had no idea where to go. He couldn't risk staying in Ealdor; His father would have the kingdom searched, top to bottom. His only option was to leave Ealdor, but where would he go? As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help to set up a life as a present. Apart from what happens in a tavern, he knew nothing of what a peasant life entailed.

A thought occurred to him, he knew of two knights from Ealdor. Sir Lancelot and Sir Gwaine! They were Sir Tristan's sons, who had left for Camelot to train with Prince Arthur. Sir Tristan was the first knight of Ealdor and one of Merlin's teachers. Merlin had grown up with his two sons, training together from a young age in till two years ago when the two knights left for Camelot. This was when Merlin had started going out to the tavern, immensely jealous of his two best friends. They were meant to stay with Prince Arthur for 5 years. He also knew Gaius, the court physician of Camelot. Some years ago Merlin had fallen ill. Alice, the court physician of Ealdor, tried all her best to help him. In the end she had told the royal family that they needed to call for Gaius, the best physician in all of the five kingdoms. Gaius of course, was sworn to secrecy on Merlin's true condition, his name, and what he looked like. The kind old physician was nice to Merlin and he was not happy about what they were doing to him.

Gwaine would love to help him but he wasn't sure about Lancelot, as the oldest he felt responsible for the two, and often wouldn't allow them to do the more dangerous stuff. But Merlin had no other choice, using his magic; he turned his horse towards the direction of Camelot and set of.

As Merlin got closer to the border between Ealdor and Camelot, he couldn't help but think of the people he was leaving behind. He wondered if they had noticed he was missing yet, and sad that he would upset them, but he felt like he had no other choice. It wasn't like it was forever, he told himself; he _would _come back.

**End of chapter…**

**I was incredibly amazed when I looked in my email and saw all of those notices! I never expected this kind of response, so many followers, and people adding me and my story to their favorites! And the lovely reviews!**

**Just want to thank everyone, and hope that this chapter is also to your liking…**

**I'm not quite sure yet when we will meet Arthur, but it would either happen in the next chapter or the chapter after that!**

**Please read and review!**


	3. Camelot

**Chapter 2… Camelot**

When Merlin reached the border, night had fallen. He had travelled far for one day, thanks to his magic. He had taken a 3-day journey, in one! Now both he and Arrow needed the rest. He crossed the border (or what he thought was the border anyway, it's not like he'd ever been here) and then dismounted. He patted Arrow, and relieved her of her burden. "Good girl" he murmured to her. She seemed to be compatible with his magic, as she seemed comfortable with it.

Merlin fed the horse some apples he had brought and poured some water for her in a bowl. After securing her to a tree, he began setting his own camp by the same tree. There wasn't much to do, he laid his sleeping cot and made some fire. Then he set up some alarm spells, so he would know if anyone approached he's little camp. Eating some of the bread and cheese, he settled in for the night. Soon his mind wandered back to Ealdor. What was their reaction when they noticed he had gone? He should've left them a note at least; in his hurry he'd forgotten to do that. That night Merlin didn't have the best sleep. At first he couldn't fall asleep, and then when he finally did, he was plagued by nightmares. It was safe to say that when he got up in the morning, he didn't feel rested at all.

Merlin debated with himself whether to use magic again for the rest of the journey, or weather now that he was over the border he was safe. There was another four days of normal speed riding left. In the end he decided to use magic for another day.

When night fell again, he only had half a day ride left till Camelot from what he knew. He rested the same that night. The next morning Merlin decided to not use his magic and actually enjoy being out in the forest. Everything felt so alive here; he could feel his magic connecting with the wildlife. He could feel the beat of a bee's wing, every graze of the wind on flower petals. He could hear the heartbeat of the rabbit nearby and the footsteps of a deer grazing among the trees. He had never experienced such a high with his magic before. This was what they had taken from him, when he was cooped up in that castle.

He reached Camelot just past noon, when he got to the gate of the city; he dismounted and walked on foot, leading Arrow. He couldn't get enough of the city. Camelot was beautiful! Everywhere he looked there was something going on, it was so busy! So much life, just like the forest. There were stalls off all sorts and their owners shouting on top of each other to be heard. Woman and men were going from stall to stall, haggling, arguing and laughing. Then there were the children, running and playing among the crowd. At one point he walked past the smithy and was bombarded with the sound of metal hitting metal. Then he walked past the fabric store and was assaulted with all sorts of colours. This was what he wanted to see, to be a part of!

Soon he reached the Citadel, he looked and asked for a public stable and then settled Arrow, paying the stable hand handsomely and telling him "to look after her."

As Merlin faced the castle, he was struck by how different it was with the one back at the Ealdor. Were Emrys castle was dark stones and tall towers **(A.N. imagine Hogwarts!)** The Pendragon Castle was light stones and battlements. Merlin liked the difference. He stood not knowing what his next action should be, to look for his two friends or the kind physician. The choice was taken from him however, as he heard his own name and his heart sank.

"Merlin?" He turned and came face-to-face with Gaius himself.

"Hello…" Merlin said after an awkward pause, were Gaius just stared.

"It is you!" Gaius exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I ran away…" Merlin explained.

"What?" Merlin had almost forgotten how high Gaius' eyebrows went.

"It's a long story," Merlin looked around. "Is there any where private we could talk?"

Gaius ushered the young man through the castle and to his own quarters. His rooms reminded Merlin of Alice, the court physician of Ealdor. There was the same aura of spices and herbs, and the place was cluttered with vials, cauldrons and books. Once they settled, Merlin told Gaius the whole story. Gaius, of course, was disapproving.

"Please help me Gaius!" Merlin begged him. "I don't want to go back to that life! I cant! I want to know a normal life. I want to see how the people live, please Gaius! Please help me!" Gaius looked sympathetically at the young man in front of him; he never did like what they had done to the boy.

"Okay I'll help you," Gaius decided. "Lord knows you'll try to escape again if I don't, then you'll go somewhere where I or anyone else can't keep an eye you." Merlin smiled. He thought this was a good argument to use on Lancelot if he seemed reluctant to help. "But you'll have to listen to me Merlin!" Gaius suddenly barked out. "You have to keep the extent of your power a secret! No one must know how powerful you are. Please stay out of trouble, if you are pretending to be a peasant, it will not be easy to get out of any trouble."

"See Gaius, that's why I need you" said Merlin. "To remind me of what I must and mustn't do!" Then he stood up grabbing his stuff. "If you'll excuse me, I need to find Sir Lancelot and Sir Gwaine, before they find me." He made his way towards the door, when Gaius stopped him.

"Merlin" he turned with a questioning look on his face. "Where are you going with those?"

"Err…" Merlin looked down at his stuff, confused at Gaius' question. "To find somewhere to stay and then leave them there…" he finally answered.

"You can stay in the back room there," the physician said pointing to the door at the back of his quarters. "There is a bed there, you can leave your stuff. Besides this way I can keep an eye and you."

Merlin smiled at the kind old man, before making his way to the backroom that was to be his bedroom. He climbed the few little steps leading to the door in excitement. The room was small. It had one small bed, a small wardrobe and a small window. But already, Merlin liked it better than His own room back in Ealdor. He felt freer in this little room then he ever did in that huge room. After unpacking his things, he walked back to the main chambers, where Gaius had some food ready for him. Looking at the food, Merlin realized he was starved. He had never gone so long without food before. With a quick "hank you" Merlin dug in, and wolfed it all down. When he was done, he got some direction towards where he could find the two knights of Ealdor and then set off.

As much as Camelot castle looked different to that of Ealdor, the life in the castle didn't seem to be that different at all. As he walked through the unfamiliar corridors, the dashing of the servants, from place to place felt very familiar. Even though he was trying to get away from life in Ealdor, he was glad for this one thing. He wanted _something_ that would remind him of home.

Making his way through the castle, Merlin had to ask for directions a lot, despite having got some from Gaius. The two knights he was looking for didn't seem to be in the training field, their own quarters, the dining hall, the kitchen and the Tavern (the last two he look to mainly for Gwaine). The last place he could think of was the armory. After asking for further directions, he made his way down, and as he got close to the door to the armory, he could hear voices, one definitely belonging to Gwaine.

"If Arthur stops entertaining pumpers asses sons of lords for 10 minutes, we might actually get some training done!" someone was complaining.

"You forget Elyan, Arthur is a pompous ass himself," Gwaine answered the stranger, Elyan.

Merlin peeked in through the door. Sure enough, there was Gwaine, sharpening his sword and Lancelot, fiddling with his armor. There were also three other men, in the room, which Merlin assumed where knights his two friends had befriended on their stay here. One was blonde with curly hair, one was dark skinned and handsome, and the other was too tall and too big to be allowed. Merlin didn't want to confront the two brothers in company, but he didn't see another choice. He had spent a lot of time trying to find these two.

"Merlin?" Gwaine's screech snapped Merlin out of his thoughts and he looked up and into the shocked eyes of his friend. The whole room had gone quiet at the shout, and they were staring at Merlin, the three knights that Merlin didn't know looked at him curiously. Lancelot was looking at him with shock and horror. Gwaine too was looking shocked.

"Hi…" Merlin said sheepishly. He didn't know what else to say. He didn't really want to say anything in front of the other knights. He looked pointedly at the two brothers and then around, hoping they'd get the message, but they seemed too in shock to say anything.

"Merlin, what are you doing here?" Lancelot, finally snapped out of his initial shock.

"Well that is a long story," Merlin said pointedly. "Perhaps if we talk somewhere else… Sir" he added in the end, hopefully, to get them the message to not say anything that'll give away his identity.

"Right," Lancelot got up, dragging his brother; "We can speak comfortably in my quarters." With that he led the way out of the armory and through the castle, towards his quarters. Throughout the short trip, the two knights of Ealdor, kept looking back and staring at Merlin, and his peasant clothing, clearly still not believing what they were seeing.

Once they reached the rooms that Lancelot was staying at, the elder knight closed and locked the door, before he and his brother faced their Prince.

"Right," Lancelot demanded, "explain!"

So Merlin told them both the whole story, as he had done with Gaius, starting from when he began to visit the Tavern back in Ealdor, and ending with his arrival in Camelot. As Merlin had predicted, Gwaine was supportive.

"This is so awesome!" He had said, "Can't wait to take you out to the Tavern." Merlin had smiled at him before facing Lancelot. Lancelot, of course was not happy, just as Merlin had guessed.

"Are you insane?" He snapped to Merlin, "we have to send you back. I'll send a message to King Balinor. What were you thinking?" Merlin panicked, he couldn't let Lancelot send a message back to Ealdor.

"Please Lancelot," he begged his friend, "I can't go back! Please! Help me! If you send me back, I'll just runaway again, and this time you wouldn't be there to keep an eye on me!" He used what Gaius had said, he had been right, it was a good argument to use on the older knight. Already, he could see the indecision on Lancelot's face. "Please give me a chance to experience freedom, before I'm locked up again." His words had the effect he was going for, and broke through Lancelot's defenses. Merlin could see the moment the knight changed his mind.

"All right," he finally said grumpily, "but you'd better not get into trouble, and listen to us, and don't do anything reckless." Merlin agreed with a big grin. "We need a cover story for you to tell people, especially to Leon, Percival and Elyan. They know we know you."

They spent the rest of the day and the better part of the night, coming up with the story. In the end they decided on Merlin being a servant who grew up in the knights' household, and now have come to Camelot for a change of scenery and work, after that Lancelot and Gwaine told Merlin all about their time here in Camelot. Everything was apparently wonderful about Camelot! From the royals down to the townspeople, all except Prince Arthur and his band of friends, Gwaine explained.

"Well the prince isn't too bad I suppose, but when he's in the company of those spoiled wannabe knights, well he gets carried away." Was all Merlin got.

It was late when he got back to Gaius. He apologized, when he saw the old man waiting for him, and then explained the cover story they had come up with. The old physician thought it a good story and added that Merlin and Gaius had met when the physician was in Ealdor, and that Merlin had come to help Gaius like an apprentice.

Merlin was really tired that night, but it was a while before he fell asleep. He was excited, and worried. He couldn't wait for tomorrow, when he would start his new life.

**End of chapter**

**Again I want to thank everyone who's been leaving me such lovely comments, and continue to add me and my story to their alerts and favorites. **

**I also want to apologies for any mistakes or misspellings or any thing like that in this chapter. I am currently lying down in bed, eyes half closing, but I'm pushing myself to finish this chapter and post it for you all.**

**I've decided that we will meet Arthur in the next chapter, as I think he needs a whole chapter to himself.**

**Read & review **


	4. Arthur

**Chapter 3… Arthur**

The next morning, Merlin woke up to the smell of fresh bread. The smell made him realize how hungry he was. He thought he should probably get used to the limitation of food as a servant. He quickly made his way down to Gaius' main chamber, and was greeted with the site of the old physician laying out breakfast and, Lancelot and Gwaine, eating at the table.

"Morning!" He greeted them.

"Morning Sire," they said together. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't call me Sire," he reminded them. "I'm just a normal peasant remember."

"So you don't want the bread I brought for you?" Gwaine piped up. "It is for the knights, and not 'normal peasants'." Merlin snatched the bread of the table and cradled it to his chest, before taking a bite.

"No, keep them coming," he said when he swallowed. "I mean I am a Prince and you guys should treat me that way since you know… In private that is" he took another bite of the bread, doing his best doe-eyed look. Gaius laughed at their antics. "Gaius, have you got any work for me this morning?"

"Work?" Lancelot asked.

"We are pretending that I'm here, to help Gaius, and work as his assistants." Merlin explained.

"There's not much to do…" Gaius said, not comfortable in making a Prince work.

"There is no validity to our excuse, if I don't actually work for you." Merlin reasoned.

"Well, I could do with a bit of help in delivering some of the medicine," Gaius relented.

"Good," Merlin got up from the table. "All I need is directions to where each medicine goes."

Two hours later, Found Merlin walking through the Castle, having just delivered the last medicine successfully, he hoped. Merlin made his way outside the Castle, thinking to look around for a bit. He was heading towards the gates of the citadel, the late morning sun, bright in the sky, not a single cloud to be seen. Merlin felt so cheerful, he had never felt like this before. Here he was, walking towards the gates to leave, and no one was stopping him.

He was halfway to the gate, when he heard a commotion. Feeling curious he changed his direction, and went to investigate. He came to a yard, which was clearly the training ground. There were a bunch of young men practicing, and who was clearly a leader to the group, a blonde handsome man, was throwing knives at a target… Which, a servant was carrying around.

Merlin marched over, feeling sorry for the servant, why didn't anyone interfere? If he saw his knights acting this way, he would have put a stop to it immediately. He walked over to tell them of, when the servant dropped the target and it rolled to words Merlin's feet.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Arthur Pendragon, was proud of who he was. He was proud of his abilities, his accomplishments, and his leadership of his knights. He had everything he could ever want, a loving mother, a proud father and an annoying sister. To top it all off, he was the Crown Prince of Camelot. His friends adored him and respected him; ladies fainted at the sight of him (figuratively of course, although some literally). Safe to say he was very pleased with himself and his life. Which is why he didn't appreciate it when some peasant questions his actions, and dares to tell him to stop!

"Hey! That's enough," the boy had said, with a lack of respect! "You've had your fun my friend." Arthur stared, who was this idiot?

"Do I know you?" He asked, curious.

"I'm Merlin," the boy introduced himself, holding out his hand. Did he expect Arthur to shake that?

"So I don't know you," Arthur said ignoring the hand. "Yet you called me friend?" The smile dropped from the idiot's mouth, and he dropped his hand.

"Yes," the boy said evenly. "My mistake."

"Yes," Arthur returned mockingly. "I think so."

"I could never have a friend who could be such an ass." The raven-haired boy said disrespectfully, before turning his back to Arthur and walking off. Arthur was so shocked and amused at this boy that he could do nothing, but laugh.

"Nor I one who could be so stupid," he said to the boy's back. "Tell me_ Mer_lin, can you walk on your knees?" He had the boy's attention immediately.

"No!"

"Would you like me to show you?" Arthur taunted.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Arthur barked out a laugh in surprise. Who was this skinny kid to think he could say something like that?

"Why?" He asked, amused. "What are you going to do to me?" Arthur sniggered again at the outrage on the boy's face. He had a remarkable one Arthur had to admit. Pale skin, sharp cheekbones, huge ears and blue, blue eyes.

"You have no idea!" Merlin said angrily.

Arthur snorted, glancing back at the other nobles, as if to say, "Are you seeing this?" They all sniggered with him. The blonde then opened his arms in a mocking invitation. "Come on…!" He taunted the kid. Next thing he knew, Merlin lunged in with a punch. The kid had good form, too good a form. Arthur had never seen this form on anyone who wasn't a knight. Only Arthur's fast reflexes, and the boy's anger, led Arthur to jump out of the way. But Merlin didn't deter when his punch missed, he bent his punched out arm and elbowed Arthur, who had moved to Merlin's right, knocking the wind out of him. Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm before he could do more damage, and twisted it behind his back. It was harder than it should have been. Clearly the boy had training; only Arthur's brute strength led him to do that.

"I could have your head for that!" He snarled in Merlin's ear.

"Who do you think you are?" Merlin snapped. "The King!"

"No," Arthur murmured smugly, realising the boy didn't know who he was. "I'm his son, Arthur." The look on Merlin's face was priceless. The Prince kicked him down on his knees, and then handed him over to some guards, who'd come over at the commotion. They dragged an angry Merlin to the dungeons, to await his sentence.

Merlin, a peasant boy with knight training, who seemed to have come from nowhere, intrigued Arthur. After the excitement of the morning, Arthur retired to his quarters, to look at some paperwork and decide on what to do with the prisoner in his dungeon. Not an hour had passed, when there was frantic knocking on his door.

"Enter." He said. The door opened and three people walked in. Arthur raised his eyebrows as Sir Lancelot, sir Gwaine and Gaius started speaking over each other, trying to get Arthur's attention. "One at a time, please!" He stopped them. "Gaius if you will…"

"Sire, I was hoping if you would consider…" Gaius began, and then stopped. Arthur stared; he'd never seen the old man act like this towards him, his father maybe, but not him. "Sire, may I enquire as to what you are planning to do with Merlin?" Arthur was taken aback; this was about that insolent boy?

"You all know him?" He asked the three.

"Yes sire," Lancelot answered. "He… He was a servant in our household, and grew up with us."

"So you taught him how to fight?" Arthur enquired, wanting answers to his questions.

"Fight?" Gwaine asked.

"He clearly knew how to fight like a knight," Arthur told them.

"Yes," Lancelot said, before Gwaine could say anything else. "Our father was fond of Merlin, and had him train with us, so he could look after himself." Arthur nodded.

"So what is he doing here, in Camelot?" He asked.

"He's here for me," Gaius answered him. "I met the boy when I was in Ealdor. He's here to help me and be my assistant."

"Well you need to keep an eye on him Gaius," the Prince said to the old physician. "He can't go around fighting with Princes. Even if he didn't know I was one, he still knew I was of nobility."

"Yes sire."

"Merlin's been spoiled by my father, sire," Lancelot explained to him. "He's just not used to acting on his station."

"All right," Arthur said suddenly. "I'll let him go for you guys, but next time he might not be so lucky."

"Thank you, sire," they said in unison.

"Don't thank me just yet," Arthur said with a grin. "He still needs punishment."

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

"Merlin!"

Merlin jumped from where he was lying down on the cold cell floor.

"Merlin!"

_Damn!_ Merlin thought. He'd completely forgotten about Kilghrrah, the Dragon could easily find him.

"Merlin!"

"Okay, okay," Merlin grumble, "I'll meet you tonight in the forest." The pressure of the Dragon's thoughts left Merlin's mind, and he sighed. He couldn't believe that on his first day as a peasant, he'd been imprisoned; for fighting with a Prince no less! The irony wasn't lost on Merlin. He was just about to settle back down, when he heard his name again.

"Merlin!"

_What now?_ Merlin thought, annoyed. But the sound was from outside his cell, and not his head. He looked up to see a guard unlocking his cell to let in Gaius.

"What were you thinking?" Gaius seethed. "The one thing we asked of you was to keep out of trouble! So what do you do? You pick a fight with Prince Arthur!"

"I'm sorry," Merlin says sheepishly. "I didn't know he was the Prince."

"You knew he was of nobility!" The physician hissed, actually hissed! Merlin must have really worried him. "You are pretending to be a peasant, you can't interfere in what the nobility do!" Merlin dropped his head in shame. "You were lucky this time, we managed to pull some strings with Arthur."

"Thank you!" Merlin said gratefully. "I wouldn't forget this."

"Don't thank us just yet," the old man told him. "Apart from a lecture from your two friends, you have to pay a small price." At the look on Gaius' face, Merlin gulped.

"Uh oh!" Merlin's eyes rounded as the first rotten fruit, a tomato, was thrown at him. Following that, he was pelted by and assortment of rotten vegetation. When the people ran out of things to throw, Merlin got a break. The stocks were not the most comfortable place. Already he's back had begun to hurt, and the wooden restraints were rubbing his wrists raw. He shook his head trying to get some of the fruit of his head.

"Hello," he looked up, to see a beautiful young girl, with caramel skin and curly hair, standing next to him.

"Hello!" He said in response, smiling at her.

"I'm Guinevere," she introduced herself. "But most people call me Gwen. I'm sir Elyan's sister."

"Nice to meet you," Merlin tried, and failed, to extend his hand for her to shake. She smiled and shook his trapped hand anyway. "I'm Merlin, but most people call me idiot."

"Oh no," she said, "What you did was brave."

"You think so?"

"Everyone does," she said earnestly. "Arthur's a bully, and it was brave of you to stand up to him. I'm glad it ended when it did though, you weren't going to beat him."

"Oh I could beat him." Merlin informed her.

"You think?" She said, looking him up and down. "You don't really look it…"

"Thanks?" Merlin raised his eyebrows.

"No no no!" She amended. "I'm sure you are stronger than your look! It's just that Arthur's a rough, tough, save the world kind of man, and well…"

"What?" Merlin enquired.

"You don't really look like that…" Gwen said, Blandly. Merlin indicated for her to come closer. When she did, he whispered theatrically.

"I'm in disguise," she laughed out loud. "Err… Gwen?" She looked at him fondly. "You might want to get out of here, my fans have returned!" She giggled before grabbing her skirt and dashing off. When she left, Merlin was once again assaulted with smelly fruit.

Later when he was released from the stocks, he made his way back to the physician's quarters. He reflected on his first day as a peasant and groaned. What a day it had been! On his way, he bumped into Lancelot, who after dragging Merlin to his own quarters, tried to melt the secret Prince's brain with a lecture. But when he was done, he showed Merlin to a bath he'd had the servants set up. Merlin smiled at him gratefully and got in the bath, washing all the rotten way.

Later that evening, Merlin made his way to the Forest, taking Arrow with him. When he got to a clearing, he mentally called to Kilghrrah. He couldn't order the great Dragon like his father, as he wasn't a Dragon Lord yet. However his magic allowed him to communicate with the beast, especially when he was close by.

It wasn't too long before the great beast, dropped from the sky.

"Hello…" Merlin said awkwardly.

"Hello young warlock," Kilghrrah's voice boomed. "So you have finally met your destiny." Merlin's head snapped up to look at the Dragon. That was not what he had expected to hear, at all. Kilghrrah had been telling him all his life that he had a great destiny. A few years ago he had finally admitted to Merlin that that destiny was a person, who'll help him unite and build Albion.

"My destiny is here in Camelot?" Merlin demanded, though he didn't expect much of an answer from the riddle speaking Dragon.

"Prince Arthur, will help you on what you will achieve." The golden beast said.

"Arthur?" Merlin stared. "No! There has to be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot!" Kilghrrah laughed his booming laugh.

"Perhaps it's your destiny to change that," the old beast grinned his toothy smile. "You and Arthur are two sides of the same coin." With that the Dragon spread his wings, preparing to fly off. "Don't worry about your father, he only asked me to find you, _not_ to tell him when I did." With that he flew off.

"Wait!" Merlin called after him, yet he knew it was useless.

He thought about Arthur, and snorted. No way, were he and that ass 'two sides of the same coin!'

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

The next morning, Arthur was visiting the lower town, his ever-faithful friends behind him. He had wanted to go alone, but he didn't say no when the noble sons had tagged along. He checked on all the businesses, making sure nothing was amiss, as was his Royall duty.

By midday, they were heading back to the citadel, when he saw the kid from yesterday. Merlin hadn't noticed Arthur and was walking around checking out the stalls. He walked past Arthur, not seeing him at all. That bugged Arthur; _everyone_ noticed Arthur!

"How's your knee-walking coming along, _Mer_lin?"He called after the boy. Merlin paused, shoulders tensing, before he clearly decided to ignore Arthur and walk away. The blonde Prince seethed. How _dare_ he? "Oh don't walk away!" Arthur mocked. Merlin paused, but didn't turn around.

"From you?" He called over his shoulder.

"Finally," Arthur said sarcastically, "I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

"I knew you were an ass," Merlin turned around, "I just didn't realise you were a royal one." Arthur snorted, did this kid never learn? The noble sons laughed with Arthur, always ready to suck up to him. Arthur looked back at them. "Ooh, what are you going to do?" Merlin mocked. "Get daddy's men to protect you?" Arthur gapped at him.

"I can take you apart with one blow!" He exclaimed.

"I can take you apart with less than that!" Merlin retorted back.

Arthur chuckled, extending his arms in invitation. Merlin took off his jacket in response. Arthur guffawed, and threw a mace at Merlin, before grabbing one himself. Twirling the weapon above his head, he said to Merlin, "I'm warning you, I've been trained to kill since birth."

"And how long have you been training to be a prat?" Merlin asked cheekily.

"You can't talk to me like that!" Arthur told him.

"Sorry," Merlin said, bending down in a mocking bow. He looked up through his dark lashes. "How long have you been training to be a prat, my _lord_?" He made the title sound like a foul insult. Arthur look back again to his laughing friends, before he swung at Merlin suddenly.

What ensued was one epic battle through the market. Every time Arthur swung at Merlin, the boy was somewhere else. The kid was fast Arthur would give him that. It also didn't help, that Arthur's mace kept getting stuck everywhere. When he looked however, Merlin seemed to have lost his mace, yet he was laughing. Arthur trapped the boy in a storage store, demanding, "Do you give up?" Merlin walked backwards away from Arthur. However all of a sudden, something caught Arthur's foot, and he fell in an uncharacteristic display of clumsiness.

Merlin wasted no time, grabbing Arthur's mace and twirling it in his face. Arthur crawled backwards with Merlin stalking him.

"Do you give up?" Merlin demanded.

"To you?" Arthur cried. But something seemed to have caught Merlin's attention in the crowd. Arthur used his distraction to his own advantage, grabbing a nearby broom, and hitting Merlin behind the knees. The boy went down gracelessly, and Arthur tapped him on the head. He then swept the floor in Merlin's face. Some of the guards had come over, and they pulled Merlin up, before preparing to drag him away.

"Wait," Arthur told them. He knew if Merlin hadn't been distracted, then he might not have won. "Let him go." Arthur looked Merlin in the eye, grabbing onto his shoulder, "there is something about you Merlin," he said curiously. "I cant quite put my finger on it."

Merlin looked away from him, he didn't seem grateful to Arthur for letting him go. Arthur followed Merlin's gaze and chuckled, seeing Gaius. No doubt the kid preferred the cells to the physician's lectures.

**End of chapter!**

**Here is a longer chapter for you all, to thank all the lovely comments, and all the subscriptions!**

**After reading through what I wrote, I realised that Arthur had a lot of questions in his mind… He is clueless, isn't he?**

**Please read and review, your comments are greatly appreciated!**


	5. Whose Servant?

**Chapter 4… Whose servant?**

A week passed, and Merlin's life fell into a routine. He'd wake up in the morning, deliver the medicines for Gaius, and then he would do whatever he wanted. He had met the other three knights from that first day officially, and befriended them. They all seemed very nice and friendly.

Sir Leon, the blonde curly haired one, was the head knight of Camelot; he was the second in command of the army after Arthur.

The big, tall knight was called Sir Percival, and despite his size he was one of the kindest and gentlest of people Merlin had ever met.

Sir Elyan, the dark skinned one, was good with metal. Merlin had learned from Gwen that their father was a blacksmith.

Gwen, too, had become a good friend to Merlin, despite being a lady. She used to be a maidservant to Princess Morgana, in till her brother was knighted. Although she was of nobility now, and her best friend was the Princess, she hadn't seemed to forget about her friends from when she was a servant. Merlin had seen her more than once, chatting and even helping servants around the castle.

Merlin first met the Princess Morgana when he was delivering a medicine for her, although she doesn't know, and Merlin hopes to the lord she never finds out. He had walked in to find her back to him. She had thought it was Gwen, and had gone behind the screen to change. Merlin, not knowing what to do had pretended he was Gwen, in till the lady in question had come in and saved him.

Merlin had yet to meet the king and queen of Camelot, apart from seeing them briefly around the castle.

Whenever Merlin could, he would spend time with his two friends, Gwaine and Lancelot.

Merlin tried to avoid Arthur, but he met the Prince a few more times. One or two times Arthur didn't notice him, so he walked away without engaging in banter with the Prince. However a few times he wasn't as lucky. Although they never had an argument or fight like the one they already had on Merlin's first few days, they did exchange colourful insults.

The following week was the Queen's Birthday. The whole kingdom was celebrating. However this meant a lot of work from Merlin, as the housemaster of the castle had hired him as a pair of extra hands. He had never appreciated what his servants went through for such an event!

The night of the celebration a feast was held, and Merlin could only go to as hired help. The Queen's Birthday was very different to Merlin's own. Where Merlin's guests were all mostly servants, the invitees to this festivity were all of nobility. The servants were only there to work.

Merlin saw the king and Queen properly for the first time, and a sort of sadness gripped his heart, making him realise he missed his own parents. He'd never been gone from them for so long. King Uther was just as authoritative as his own father, and Queen Ygraine just as beautiful as his own mother.

He was gathering plates of food to serve, when Gwen walked over.

"Hello Merlin," she said kindly.

"Hello Gwen," Merlin returned smiling at her.

"Lovely turnout isn't it?" Gwen chatted. "To think last year I was here to work, this year I'm here as a guest!" Merlin grinned at her.

"Quite a change, next thing you know, you'll be married to a noble or God forbid the Prince and it'll be your birthday we'll be celebrating!"

"God not Arthur!" She laughed "poor his future wife!"

"Come on Gwen," Merlin teased her. "I thought you liked the rough, tough, save the world kind of man."

"No, I like much more ordinary men like you…" She laughed again.

"Believe me Gwen, I'm not ordinary." Merlin reassured her.

"I didn't mean you!" Gwen exclaimed. "I just meant much more ordinary men, _like_ you." Merlin stared at the flushed girl, before he grinned.

"Thanks…" He told her. She blushed harder, before moving away to speak with the Princess, who was looking exceptionally beautiful.

Soon after everyone took their seats, and Merlin moved to stand at the side, like all the other servants. The King gave this speech, before introducing the kingdom's best singer.

Lady Helen began to sing at the other end of the hall. She had a peaceful voice, it made Merlin feel drowsy, but he fought it, he couldn't fall asleep _here_. He looked around for a distraction, before he realised that everyone else was falling asleep. Not only that, but cobwebs where gathering over them, as if they had been asleep for years.

Merlin quickly deduced what was happening, and covered his ears. He followed the singer's eyesight to Arthur. She was clearly a sorceress wanting to hurt the Prince of Camelot. With a thought, Merlin released the chandelier on top of her, ending the spell she had cast on the hall. Everyone woke up with a start, wiping the cobwebs off themselves, confused at what had happened. Looking over, Merlin noticed that the witch had turned into an old woman who was drawing out a dagger from her bosom.

Her movements caught everyone's attention, as she threw the dagger at Arthur, with accuracy only achieved by magic. Merlin didn't think; he just acted. A flash of his eyes and time slowed down, he ran to Arthur and pulled him out of the way. Suddenly time sped up, and as the two boys fell to the floor the dagger embedded itself into the chair, right where Arthur's heart would have been.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Arthur stared at the dagger that had been meant for his heart. He hardly heard that shriek of his mother and Morgana, or his father's demand for someone to check on the singer turned old witch. Before he knew it, someone was helping him to use get up on his feet.

He looked over to his rescuer, and was stunned to see Merlin. The boy moved back when the Queen and her daughter ran to Arthur to hug him and make sure that he was alright. The blonde Prince reassured them that he was fine, all the while staring at the brunette. His father came over and grabbed his shoulder, looking him up and down, making sure he was alright. Then the King looked over to Merlin and said:

"You saved my boy's life!" Merlin went red, and dropped his head.

"It was nothing your Majesty." He said modestly.

"No," Uther said, while squeezing Arthur's shoulder. "Such bravery must be rewarded!" The boy went even redder, if that was possible.

"Well if you insist sire," he said shyly.

"I do," the king boomed. "You shall have a position in the Royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant!"

"What?" Both boys said in unison, but the clapping of everyone in the hall drowned this objection out. The boys looked at each other, before looking away in disgruntlement.

The next morning, Arthur was woken up with a loud bang. He sat up quickly, grapping his sword from next to his bed, shouting, "freeze!" He looked around for the source of the noise, and came face-to-face with around eyed Merlin, holding a breakfast tray.

"Breakfast?" Merlin asked innocently. Arthur stared, before the events of the night before came to him. He groaned, he was stuck with this idiot.

Merlin, oblivious to Arthur's misery, placed the tray on the grumpy Prince's table with a bang, and then opened the curtains. Arthur winced at the bright light. He replaced his sword, and then sat at his table and began to eat.

"You are such a slob!" Merlin declared. Arthur turned to the boy, and saw him scrutinizing the room. There were his clothing from the previous day on the floor, some of his paperwork had fallen off his desk, and pieces of his armour could be found all over the room. Arthur shrugged; it wasn't his job to clean up the place, that's why he had servants. He resumed eating, and Merlin begun to make his bed, and then clean his room, all the while grumbling under his breath. Arthur rolled his eyes; Merlin didn't seem to be a very good servant.

By the time Merlin finished dressing the Prince of Camelot, Arthur had had enough.

"Will you shut up!" He exclaimed. Merlin frowned, but went quiet thankfully, or so Arthur thought. After about two minutes Merlin spoke again.

"Don't you know how to dress yourself?" He grumbled, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You are a manservant for a reason," he told the boy. "And you need to call me sire." Arthur didn't miss Merlin's eye roll. "Come on, I have training to do!"

Merlin was slightly more competent in the training field, but Arthur thought that that was because he had been trained himself. However at everything else Merlin was rubbish.

When they went hunting a few days later, Merlin was so noisy, that he scared away all the game. It was the first time in his life when Arthur came back empty-handed. His bad mood and complaints didn't seem to faze Merlin either, who stared around looking cheerful, which didn't help Arthur's bad mood.

One day at training, more than a month later, Arthur stood at the side, observing and evaluating his knights. Merlin stood next to him, sharpening his sword. His knights were good, too good and they knew it. Arthur wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. As Sir Owain lunged at a dummy and sliced his head off, and then turned around and gloated at the rest of them, Arthur heard Merlin snort.

"What was that?" Arthur asked him.

"What was what?" Merlin asked in return.

"Are you not impressed with my knights?" Arthur demanded.

"No I am…" The Prince-turned-servant said hurriedly.

"But…?"

"Well they are a little arrogant, aren't they?" The blonde stared.

"There is nothing wrong with being a proud of your talents," he told Merlin. "Something you know nothing about." The boy rolled his eyes at the insult, but otherwise ignored it, instead he said:

"There's nothing wrong with pride, but arrogance can be dangerous. What if they are in a real fight, and they pose to gloat? All it takes is a moment of distraction for a man to die."

"Don't be melodramatic _Mer_lin," Arthur ridiculed. However he did agree with Merlin, he didn't mind his knights being proud, but there was a difference between pride and too much confidence. "What do you suggest I do then?" He asked his servant in the end.

Merlin posed in his chore, looked up at Arthur, then at his knights. In the end he said, "Let them fight me."

"What?" Arthur asked befuddled.

"If they are too arrogant about their abilities, then they'll really be knocked down a peg or two if they lose to a servant."

"I don't want to humiliate them." The blonde stated. In response he got:

"Better to be humiliated than dead. Besides, if they are humiliated, they are not likely to make that mistake again." Arthur looked at Merlin in surprise.

"You know Merlin, sometimes you say something and you almost sound…"

"What?" Merlin enquired.

"Well I want to say wise, but…" They both looked at each other and said together, "Nah…!" Before laughing.

"What makes you think you can beat my knights?" Arthur asked.

"Because I held my own against you, and let's face it you got lucky when you won." The blonde Prince contemplated the brunette's words.

"Alright Merlin, you're on."

"What?"

"Get ready," Arthur ordered. "You'll duel with one of my knights." With that he walked towards his warriors, not waiting for a response.

The knights stopped what they were doing when they saw Arthur coming their way, all off them smiling, clearly thinking they're about to be praised by him.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded, smiling internally with amusement as he saw the confusion take over their faces. "My mother fights better than that!"

"Sire?" Leon stepped forward hesitatingly.

"You call yourselves night of Camelot!" He shouted at them.

"Sire," Owain said. "What was wrong?"

"Everything!" Arthur exclaimed, enjoying himself a little. "My _manservant_ could beat you all!" A snort came from one of the knights. "Sir Gerald," Arthur singled him out. "Do you think you can beat my servant, with the way you were fighting?"

"Well…" Gerald began, blinking at the question. He looked over at Merlin, and then back at Arthur, before saying with confidence, "yes sire, I can."

"Okay," the Prince smirked. "Prove it."

"What?" The warrior looked shocked.

"Duel with Merlin." He pointed to the way in question; who was choosing a sword, checking their weight in his hand. Gerald barked a laugh. Arthur had to admit; Merlin didn't look like much. However since Merlin had fought Arthur, for several minutes more than the required one, the blonde Prince knew Merlin could do it. Sir Gerald, had barley managed the one-minute against Arthur, when he was qualifying for a knighthood.

Gerald got ready, while the other knights stood around the field with Arthur. Merlin had chosen a sword and shield, and had trotted over to stand opposite Gerald. By now they had also attracted a crowd, as people began to notice what exactly was going on, on the training field. With the growing crowd, the noise level went up. Everyone was shouting, encouraging someone, mostly Merlin. Arthur then realised that if Merlin won, not only was it a lesson to his knights, but also a lift of morale for the people. From the look he was giving their crowd, Merlin realised this too. The blonde winced; this was putting too much pressure on the boy. As Arthur was preparing to give his speech of fair play – it was needed now, due to the crowd – he was approached by Sir Lancelot.

"Sire," the handsome knight said. _"_Is this wise?" Arthur looked at him, and then replied.

"This was Merlin's own idea, Lancelot." The knight gave, what Arthur thought to be, a long-suffering sigh. Well he did know Merlin, Arthur thought.

"Sir Gerald and Merlin!" He said aloud, and immediately there was silence among the audience, which was growing by the second. "I want a fair fight!" He was about to say the first one to knock the other to the ground wins, but then changed his mind looking at Merlin. "The first one to…" He thought for a bit then got an idea. He walked over to Merlin, and then yanked his neckerchief of his neck, before ripping it in two.

"Hey!" Merlin said indignantly reaching for the cloth too late.

"You can mend it later." Arthur said to him, before raising his voice again. "The first one to take the other's band wins!" There was a loud cheer as the Prince wrapped one of the pieces around Merlin's bicep.

"My mother gave me that!" Merlin hissed at him angrily. Arthur felt a little guilty, but said nothing as he walked over to Sir Gerald to do the same. When done he walked to the edge of the field with everyone else, to watch.

"Begin!" He shouted and the crowd went wild.

The two in the middle however, didn't react much, except to begin circling facing each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

It was Gerald who lunged first, his sword connecting with Merlin's shield, who used it to add momentum to the sword and pushing it aside before hitting Gerald on the back with the flat side of his own weapon.

"You would have been dead in a real fight." Arthur heard him tell the knight. He laughed, the idiot was tutoring is knight!

Arthur heard a growl from Gerald, before the young knight lunged again. Arthur shook his head; the pride of his knight must be too high, if a simple comment against his ability makes him so angry. Merlin was right; this was good for his warriors.

Merlin easily deflected the attack. The blond prince was impressed Merlin really _was_ good. He would have never guessed if he had not seen it with the way the boy behaved. When Arthur thought about it he realised that Merlin wasn't as arrogant as the knights. Arthur's opinion went up about his raven-haired manservant.

The fight went on for a while longer, always with Gerald attacking, and Merlin defending. The young boy was constantly giving Gerald advice too! It was quite funny actually.

All of the sudden, Merlin went from defensive, to offensive, and with a few fast moves, he had Gerald on his back, weaponless. Merlin held his own sword to the knight's throat, before bending down and untying the half of his neckerchief from Gerald's arm. He then extended his hand to help the fallen knight get up, after removing his sword. Raising his hand, he held the ripped cloth in the air to the thunder of applause and shouts. Arthur smiled at Merlin, and went to his knights to drive in the lesson they should have learned from this.

They were just packing up, when a serving boy ran to Arthur to tell him that his father required him in the great Hall. A messenger from Ealdor had just arrived!

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Merlin's heart sank as he heard the message that Arthur got. He looked around for his two friends to share in the dilemma, his earlier cheer over his win, completely gone. Unfortunately, Lancelot had already left the field, and Gwaine was too far away, chatting to some of his colleagues.

"Come on Merlin," Arthur called as he made his way towards the castle.

"But I need to put this stuff away," Merlin said hopefully.

"You can do that later, I need you to come with me now." Arthur ordered.

"But…"

"Merlin, now!" The Prince – turned – servant dropped his head and followed the blond boy to the castle. Once there, Merlin peaked at that messenger in the middle of the hall, carrying Ealdor's colours. He took a sigh of relief. He didn't know the messenger; therefore the messenger didn't know him. This one was a young one, with sandy hair and keen black eyes.

When Arthur and Merlin took their place, the King prompted the young messenger to speak.

"Your Majesty," he began. "I bring grave news from Ealdor."

"What has happened?" King Uther enquired.

"The Emrys Prince has disappeared sire," the messenger explained. There was a gasp from the Queen at this news. "We have searched the kingdom, but are yet to find him. King Balinor wishes to ask of you and the other kingdoms, if you could search your kingdoms for our Prince."

"This is terrible news indeed!" Uther affirmed. "We will of course do what we can. For now why don't you get some rest, you must have had a rough journey." He indicated that some servants to take the man to some accommodation and to bring him some food. After thanking the King, the young man from Ealdor followed the servants out of the hall.

The King then turned to his son, "gather some man and leave at dawn."

**End of chapter**

**Thank you to everyone who has been commenting, or adding me/my story! And a shout out to **_**MerlinMorgana1579**_** for giving me some wonderful ideas!**

**The idea of Merlin dueling one of the knights to teach them a lesson in arrogance, was something I read in another fan fiction a long time ago. I cannot remember which one it was, so if anyone has any complaints please let me know and I will remove it from the story. I just like the idea a lot, and kind of made it my own. I have done some changes of my own.**

**To answer a common question that I got; this story does not follow the TV show too closely (like a chapter per episode), this is a different story to that of the one told by the show… the first episode was one of my favorites, especially the way the two hero's of the story meet. There will be other conversations and interactions from the show in this story, but only if it goes with my tale… and that will mostly be between Arthur and Merlin and a few others.**

**I also haven't decided yet whether Merlin will reveal his magic or not, although magic is legal, Merlin is trying to hide… if he does reveal it, he **_**will**_** keep the extend of it's true force to himself.**


	6. The Search Begins

**Chapter 5 – The search begins.**

The next morning, Merlin was so busy preparing for the journey that he had no time to think about what exactly this trip was about. The night before, Lancelot had come to see Merlin, lecturing him, and making him feel guilty that he was the cause of this, wasting resources, when he was right here!

Arthur had separated the knights into four groups; one (the largest group) was to remain in the city as protection. The other three were equally divided as search parties. Gwaine and Percival would lead one, the other one by Lancelot and Elyan, as the two brothers were supposed to know what the Prince of Ealdor looks like. Arthur himself, who had rightfully guessed that Merlin must know the identity of the 'Emrys Prince', led the last group, so Merlin would remain at his side.

Pretty soon it was time to set off, and with a last glare from Lancelot and an amused grin from Gwaine, Merlin followed Arthur out of the city. Their group was heading northwest. On the way Merlin was deep in thought, thinking up ways he could distract Arthur in their search. He did feel guilty in wasting all their time and resources; no doubt other kingdoms were searching for him too. He thought of what the messenger had told the knights that morning before they got ready, a generic description of what he looked like. Slim, dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin, 16 of years and magic. If the knights came across anyone of that description, they were to bring the young man to Merlin to identify.

Merlin was dreadfully counting the minutes in till someone connected the dots, added 2 to 2, placed the missing puzzle piece and realised that Merlin was the 'Emrys Prince'. Merlin sighed; this was going to be a long and tedious trip.

"You're awfully quiet," Merlin snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Arthur's voice.

"I'm thinking." Merlin explained.

"Thinking?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, saying, "That's new."

"Yes," Merlin replied. "You should try it sometime."

"Shut up, _Mer_lin" Arthur grumbled and Merlin smiled.

Over the past month, Merlin and Arthur had fallen into a sort of understanding, and had developed a strange friendship of sorts, well if you could call two people who insulted each other on a regular basis, friends. Merlin enjoyed their banters, and could tell that Arthur did too. The blonde Prince would complain that Merlin was a bad servant, and the secret Prince would claim that Arthur was a cabbage head. The raven-haired boy knew that Arthur was enjoying the freshness of Merlin's attitude, which he, as a Prince, wouldn't see everywhere else, Merlin should know. Even Gwaine and Lancelot kept a level of respect for his station, although now he was being a peasant.

When it got to dusk, Arthur signal for them to set up camp. Merlin was charged with getting a fire started, and cooking. All the while listening to the knights bantering and joking around. There was a fond smile on his face that refused to go away. This was an unexpected pleasure that had come from his freedom. He had never had the chance to bond with his knights like this, to know what happened to them when they went on these quests.

"Hurry up _Mer_lin!" Arthur called. "We are getting hungry!"

"Why don't you come and give me a hand, if you want to eat sooner?" Arthur grumbled and Merlin grinned. The younger boy thanked his lucky stars that Freya had taught him a thing or two about cooking, so he didn't have to explain how he didn't know how to cook.

Once it was done, he served the foods then cleared up, and then settled among them, listening to the stories and banters going on around him. It felt like that first night over two years ago, when he sneaked out to the tavern for the first time. The Prince-turned-servant slept well that night, despite being on the rock hard ground. He was still very cheerful the next morning when he woke up. Arthur rolled his eyes at the grin on Merlin's face, obviously thinking it's too early to be so happy.

Later on in the day, however, a slight damper came over Merlin's cheer. They had reached the first village. Soon the knights had dispersed, searching for slim, dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and 16-years-old boys. Merlin followed Camelot's Prince to find the village elder, and tell him why they were there. They couldn't tell him exactly why they were there of course, just that it is very important that they find a young man.

The village elder was a kind old man, not unlike Gaius, although perhaps younger. He was very accommodating, helping them round up all the young men that roughly fit the description. Even so, searching the village took the rest of the day. After checking all the young man, (Merlin had to look all of them all over before saying that they weren't him) they had to double-check all the hiding places. By the time they were done, it was dusk and the village elder offered them accommodations and food for the night and they graciously and gratefully accepted.

Merlin, as Arthur's manservant, would spend the night with the blond prince. As they settled for the night, the warlock noticed that also wasn't in the best of moods.

"What's the matter?" Merlin asked him.

"Nothing," Arthur replied.

"Then why have you got that face on?" Arthur raised an eyebrow in question. "The one that makes you look constipated, but I know now it means you're not happy with something." The blonde growled at him, but gave in.

"I just didn't think it would be this hard," he admitted. "Stupid I know. I mean I knew we weren't going to find him in the first place we looked, but I guess I hadn't really thought about it." Merlin felt so guilty, that it took him a few tries before he could speak again.

"If the Emrys Prince isn't found," Merlin said eventually. "It wouldn't be _your_ fault Arthur."

"I know," the older boy agreed. "He might not even be in Camelot." There was a pause before Arthur continued. "If he's kidnapped, I doubt he'll be here."

"What do you mean?"

"If these people were clever enough to be able to kidnap a very well guarded Prince, they'll take him to Mercia, the only kingdom that doesn't accept a treaty with either Camelot, Ealdor or any other kingdom in Albion."

Merlin thought on that, the blonde was right of course, Cenred was a ruthless king, who didn't accept the terms the kingdoms wanted in their treaties. As Mercia was next to the south coast of Albion, Cenred traded with foreign lands via the sea, most believed he traded with Saxons. Another thing Merlin realised was that Arthur didn't think that he had run away, he fully believed that Merlin had been kidnapped!

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

As the two princes slept, faraway in the Kingdom of Mercia, King Cenred was expecting a visitor.

She came in quietly through a side door. Her blonde hair glinting in the light of the torches, her red dress sparkling, giving her a look of innocence that contrasted with the expression on her face and the glint in her eyes.

"You have news for me king Cenred?" She said with her harsh musical voice. If Cenred were any other man, he would have jumped in surprise. As it were, he only tensed his shoulders before turning around. If Cenred were any other man, he wouldn't trust this witch either, but as it were he was enchanted with her beauty, (whether that was figuratively or literally, remains to be seen).

"I do indeed, Lady Morgause." He said gravely. "Important news indeed." He paused there looking out the window.

"Do not test my patients, Cenred!" She snapped angrily.

"This news is going to cost you, my lady."

"What is it you want?" She glared.

"I want in on your plans." The King said.

"Fine!" she agreed. "Now the news?"

"Word has reached me that the Emrys Prince," he paused again, to build up the tension. "Is missing."

"Missing?" She stared at him.

"Yes," the king smiled evilly. "Balinor has sent word to the other kings to search for his son." At this a smile sat on her lips, which even had Cenred want to take back a step, but he didn't to keep composure.

"This is excellent news indeed!" She mused.

"Your plans my lady?" Cenred reminded her. She looked at him, realising that she could use his help, more specifically his men.

"We need to find the lost Prince before anyone else does." She told him.

"What are you planning to do with the boy?" She looked him up and down, before deciding to trust him with a bit more information.

"Long ago, there was a prophecy about the once and future Kings, two men who'll unite all of Albion under one rule, their own."

"All of Albion?" He demanded.

"Yes," she told him. "Even your kingdom, which is why we must stop it."

"How do you plan to do that?"

"Some years ago I learned that the Emrys Prince is one of the Kings. He is very powerful, that's why he was hidden. He's young, I will not be surprised if he has escaped, if we find him and give him what he didn't have, freedom, we can train him to be at our side." She gave a sinister grin, "even help find, and kill, the other king."

"That is a grand plan," the King grinned with her. "I will dispatch my men immediately!"

"Don't be stupid!" She snapped. "If he has run away, do you really think he would have come to Mercia?"

"What do you suggest then?"

"We need a more subtle form of searching." She gave him a hard stare. "We also need to find out who the other king is. Mary Collins had sent news that she had found him, but I have not heard from her since, nor can I contact her."

"I do have news of her." Cenred informed her grimly. "She was killed in Camelot, some weeks ago." Morgause hissed angrily at this news.

"We need to find out who that King is!" She looked at the King in front of her, the glint in her eyes brighter than ever. "For the moment we need to find the lost Prince." She grinned her evil grin; she had so many grand plans for the Emrys Prince.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

In the morning, Arthur woke up to the sight of Merlin pottering around.

"Hmm…" He managed to spit out, alerting the younger boy to his almost conscious state.

"Good morning!" Merlin greeted. Arthur groaned, why was Merlin so cheerful in the mornings?

"What time is it?" He managed to get out.

"Just dawn," Merlin answered. "We should get a move on if you want to make good time." Arthur made a face, not really wanting to get up. "Up and at 'em!" The younger boy said loudly clapping his hands. Arthur through his pillow at him, Merlin dodged, before grabbing the bottom of Arthur's blanket then pulling the whole thing off. The older of the two cursed out words that would have caused his mother to faint.

Soon after, Arthur had thanked the elder of the village for their help, and then they set off on their way.

The next two weeks passed the same. They would reach a village or town and search for slim, dark hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and 16-years-old young men. They would then show off the young men they had found to Merlin, before he would confirm that they are not the Emrys Prince, before moving on.

Arthur was getting frustrated. He really didn't think that the lost Prince would be found in Camelot. He wanted to go home, he missed his bed. He missed his family he even missed Morgana! They still had another two weeks before they had to go back.

As they rode through the forest, they came across a group of young girls. They had on the tell-tale druidic cloaks, so Arthur figured there must be near the Druidic Camp. He asked the group for some directions to the camp. Then signalled his men to ride on. He noticed Merlin looking at the girls with a funny look on his face, almost one of horrific realisation.

"Don't worry _Mer_lin," he told the younger boy. "I wouldn't let them get you." He laughed, though he didn't miss the eye rolls.

When they got to the camp, the same routine began again. The Druids were very helpful and accommodating. Like all the others before him, the elder of the camp offered them some food and some tents to spend the night. Arthur thanked him and they settled around one of the campfires.

They had just finished their food, when a teenage girl around Merlin's age approached them.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" She asked.

"No thank you," Arthur answered her. "It was all very good, you can send my compliments to the cook."

"Of course, sire." But she didn't leave. Arthur looked up at her, but she wasn't looking at him, she was looking at _Merlin_! The brunette however, had the same horrified look on his face. "Anything I can get for you?" She asked him with a giggle. She was pretty, Arthur could say, blonde and petite.

"N-no t-thank you," Merlin was blushing all over. The girl looked a little disappointed, but walked back over to her giggling friends who were all looking at Merlin.

Arthur was really annoyed; _he_ was the Prince, and a handsome one at that! He looks around the group that was around the campfire, to see their reaction. They all looked amused! Arthur huffed, looking Merlin up and down. The younger boy looked even younger when he blushed.

Noticing Arthur's displeasure, a young boy (younger than Merlin perhaps, about 15 years of age) spoke up.

"It's just because they can feel his power sire." He explained with an amused smile. He was one of the boys Arthur had had Merlin identify, pale skin, dark curly hair and sky-blue eyes.

"His power?" Arthur was confused, and then he looked at Merlin questioningly.

"Err…" The Druid boy said. He was looking at Merlin funny. The servant was looking back pointedly. They were like that for some time, as if communicating with their eyes. Then the Druid said, eventually, "the power of his presence, sire," he looked at Merlin again. "The power of his aura."

Arthur was not happy with this explanation either. He was the Crown Prince of Camelot; _he_ should have power of presence, a powerful aura, not his _servant_!

"Prince Arthur?" The Druid boy called to him.

"Yes," he looked at the boy.

"I was wondering…" He said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "What does someone need to do to become a knight of Camelot?" The blonde Prince looked the boy all over, immediately in leader mode. The boy had good built, if a little on the skinny side, but most peasants were.

"They would need to prove they'd be good at it." Arthur answered him. "What's your name?"

"Mordred, sire," Was the answer he got.

"Well Mordred," Arthur sat up a little straighter, "why do you want to be a knight of Camelot? Druids are known for their peace, why would you want a career that deals with violence… Most of the time?"

"I like being able to help protect others." Mordred answered.

"That is a noble reason," the Prince admitted. "But I want to know the real reason." he looked pointedly at the Druid. The boy gulped, looking down. He seemed to be deciding something. When he looked up, it looked like he had made his decision.

"When I was just a boy," he began his story. "Me and my parents were travelling, when we got attacked by bandits. They ran my father through straightaway. After taking everything we had, they began to hurt my mother. I tried to stop them, but what can an eight-year-old boy do? I got so upset that I screamed, little knowing that I've released Magic. The bandits flew through the air and fell to Earth metres away. I don't know if I killed them or just knocked them out, but it was too late for my mother, that's all I knew." He posed here, remembering. "It was a few days later, I'm not quite sure how many, when Iseldir found me and took me in." He looked at Arthur, eyes determined. "I don't want to be helpless again, sire. I want to know how to protect people, especially my loved ones."

There was a silence following Mordred's speech, which was really loud. Arthur's mind was going from emotion to emotion, not knowing which one to settle on. He was sad for the boy, but angry with the men who had done that to him and his family. He was grateful to Iseldir for taking the boy in, and impressed with Mordred for not letting this cripple him for the rest of his life, choosing to do something about it.

"We should be back in Camelot in two weeks time," Arthur eventually broke the silence. "Come to Camelot then, and we'll see what you're made of." The Druid boy smiled gratefully.

"Thank you sire!" He said.

"Mind you, it will not happen overnight." Arthur warned him. "It will take a long time of training." Mordred nodded recklessly, still smiling. Arthur smiled back. The rest of the night went by smoothly, everyone telling tales or joking around. Arthur was feeling most content at that point among his knights, his people and Merlin. For some reason he couldn't place Merlin into any of the other categories in his head, it was frustrating and unsettling, no matter how much he tried he couldn't understand the younger boy.

Arthur gave a sigh; it seemed that recently, his mind liked to wonder to the boy sitting next to him and the riddle that he was.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Merlin stared at Mordred across the fire. The boy had nearly given him away, talking about his power. Merlin had been quick to tell the boy with magic shared telepathy to stop. It was mostly a druidic think, this telepathy; Merlin had been surprised earlier when he could hear the Druidic chatter in his head. He was also horrified because the chatter had been a bunch of teenage girls praising him, attracted to his power.

Mordred had been confused as to why Merlin is hiding his power, and Merlin had to come up with something, so he gave the boy a lie based on part of the truth. _I'm scared of my power, _he had said to the boy. _I don't want my friends to be scared of me too._

Mordred had understood, which is strange for one so young. But then again listening to the boy's story, Merlin could see why.

Soon after, they all retired to bed. As Merlin was helping Arthur get ready for bed, the blonde spoke.

"Why do you not apply to be a knight?"

"What?" Merlin stared, not knowing what to say.

"You are clearly as skilled as any knight," Arthur told him. "So why are you a servant? Why not apply to be a knight?" Merlin paused for a bit, not knowing what to say.

"I don't really like the violence," he said eventually. "I don't enjoy fighting as much as anything else."

"Hmm," Arthur contemplated.

As they lay sleep, Merlin's mind ran in circles again. At first he had been surprised when no one had connected him to the Emrys Prince. He fit the description, was the right age, and from Ealdor, not to mention he had come to Camelot when the 'Prince' had 'disappeared'. However after listening to Arthur's thoughts on the subject of the lost Prince, has made Merlin realise a few things. He understood that no one expected Gaius, Lancelot and Gwaine to lie about something so big, well not anyone in Camelot. If _they_ backed up Merlin's story why should anyone question it?

Another thing he had come to realise listening to Arthur speculate on the whereabouts of Ealdor's Prince, was that no one in Camelot thought that he ran away. They all expected foul play. _Why would he,_ they thought, _a Prince runaway from a castle and the life of privilege to another kingdom and choose to work as a manservant for another Prince?_

What Merlin was doing was the same as hiding in plain sight. No one suspected him, because no one suspected the Prince to be the servant.

**End of chapter!**

**Again thank you to all the lovely comments and everything else in between!**

**I hope this chapter has answered some of your questions!**

**Please read & review!**


End file.
